


Cupcakes and Katanas and Afterschool ASL

by cinnamonsnaps



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Cute, jane being all maternal and taking lil seb under her wing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-03
Updated: 2013-07-03
Packaged: 2017-12-17 14:10:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/868463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinnamonsnaps/pseuds/cinnamonsnaps
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"au where lil seb is the next door neighbour’s mute kid and jane bakes him cupcakes every week after school so he can stay and hide from the bullies"<br/>I wrote the thing! Based on an art!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cupcakes and Katanas and Afterschool ASL

**Author's Note:**

> artwork and original post!  
> the-art-of-ascending.tumblr.com/post/54524194461/eeznii-the-art-of-ascending-au-where-lil-seb

You can hear their feet slapping on the pavement behind you, and you thank some based god that you're small and quick and good at running. That same smallness would be the opposite of helpful if they managed to catch you, and you curse your limp noodle arms - it's not your fault you're a tiny twelve year old. You just haven't had your growth spurt yet.

The street looks familiar, but that's only because all the suburban streets nearby are the same, and you realise you went down the wrong one by accident. Dammit, not again - this neighborhood is a maze of middle class houses and economically nonviable diesel cars. You're about five corners too far from your own house, they're getting closer and one of them is close enough to try to grab the back of your hoodie and you-

swerve suddenly left in a burst of movement that surprises even you, rushing towards a particularly average looking house with a rope swing. Has children, you think, so less likely to be a pedophile. Small car in parking space, so only one or two kids, and it also means they're more likely to be in the house to let you in. You almost collide with the door, before knocking it briskly a few times, grateful the chasers seem to have a particularly wide turning circle and haven't even faced the right direction yet. You will the owner of the house to just hurry up already jesus dicks come on.

Your prayers are answered in the form of a short, plump lady with large glasses, looking at you rather owlishly.

"Hello dear, can I help you?" You note she speaks very well. Maybe she won't be too snooty to help you out. You sign something quickly along the lines of asking if she understands you, but her confused look tells you that your efforts are falling on deaf ears, as it were, and your heart sinks a little.

"There he is!" one of the kids yells, and they almost run into the house with the force of their own momentum when they try to stop. You brace yourself as one of the kids slams into you, putting an arm round your shoulder in a pally way which makes you want to punch his dick. "Here you are, buddy. We thought we'd lost you there." He grins at the lady, and you roll your eyes. Of course they wouldn't try anything right in front of an adult who could find out right where they live, but he fucking knows you can't exactly speak out to defend yourself or reveal his lies.

"Do you know these boys?" she asks you, and you shake your head vehemently just as the ring leader says, "ha, he's just messing. There isn't a problem, missus." He pinches your arm where she can't see it, hard enough to make your eyes water and your mouth open in a silent "o".  
She gives him a sharp look. "I believe I was asking him." She turns to you. "Are these boys giving you trouble?"  
You nod vehemently, even as the pain on your arm increases sharply oh fuck he's using his nails. Ouch ouch ouch.  
"Nah we ain't. We're just friends playing. Right?"  
The other boys grin and nod, although the more intelligent ones have started backing away a little from the lady's sharp eyes and knowing look. You give her a pleading expression, eyes just visible behind your red triangle shades, and she nods with understanding at you.  
"Well, he has to come inside now. I'm afraid James has to be at his judo lessons right now." She addresses the last part fully to you with an air of finality, clearly done with the assholes, and beckons with a hand. You have no idea who the fuck James is. "So he won't be back for a good hour... but there's no reason why you can't come in and wait for him. Come along."  
She waits for you to step forward, which you do, only with slight difficulty from the kid's arm trying to hold you back a little. You slip out of his grasp like the fish he never caught.

The lady steps aside and gestures for you to enter, before waving the other boys off with a hand wave.  
"I know where you all live!" she says cheerfully as you scuttle inside, before closing the door with a snap.  
She turns to you. "My name's Jane Egbert, but people call me Nanna mainly, so feel free. Who are you?"  
You hopelessly sign a little with your hands, and she purses her lips before pulling out a notepad and pencil from a nearby shelf. You scribble "Sebastian" on it, and she reads it with a crinkle under her eyes. "What a wonderful name. Well, Sebastian, would you like to wait here until those horrible boys have gone?"  
You nod. May as well now.

She was in the middle of baking cupcakes, which she offers you happily, and tells you all about her son. She asks you many questions, from why you wear your very distinctive red shades (a homage to the anime greats, though unfortunately it gets you unwanted attention sometimes) to how you became mute (from birth - a rare condition, you admit, but you've never let anyone baby you or pity you, and when she tries, you hold a hand up to stop her). Then her son arrives home, a large nosed kid with a fedora who greets you with a firm handshake and offers to walk you home. You can see muscles and sinew on his arm from the aforementioned judo so you may as well accept. You vow to take up some form of training. Something cool and noticeable. Like the katana. Fuck yes.  
They say you can come over anytime you want someplace to hang out. They let you take your time to write replies and promise to begin learning sign language - Nanna grins and accepts your offer to teach her it yourself.  
"A dog's never too old to learn new tricks, that's what I say."  
You realise that this is possibly the most welcome you've ever been made to feel in your whole life, and when you warn them that if they're not careful, you'll end up being a permanent feature of the house, they both just laugh raucously and say, "the more the merrier!"  
With a rare grin, you promise to live up to the threat.


End file.
